The chances of finding Jilian Kelley, a 39-year-old pastor’s wife, and Veronica Butler, 27, alive after they disappeared more than a week ago in Oklahoma with signs of “foul play” is growing “more challenging” as time wears on without a break in the case, investigators say.
“It’s been over a week,” Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s Public Information Manager Hunter McKee told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “We are hopeful that we can find them alive, but obviously it’s becoming more and more challenging.”
Kelley is the wife of Pastor Heath Kelley who leads Hugoton First Christian Church in Kansas. Heath Kelley recently agreed to serve as the new pastor of Willow Christian Church in Nebraska starting in June. Both churches have been praying for the safe return of the pastor’s wife and Butler.
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A source close to Butler told ABC 7 that the missing mom was supposed to pick up her 6-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son in Eva, Oklahoma, to celebrate her daughter’s birthday on March 30. Butler was involved in an ongoing custody battle with the family of her children’s father, Wrangler Cole Rickman. Jilian Kelley had traveled with Butler from Elkhart on what was supposed to be a 16-mile trip, but the trip ended 3 miles short of their destination.
In the deserted area where Butler’s abandoned car was found with no sign of the women, the OSBI said in a statement on Facebook last week that there is evidence of “foul play” in the disappearance of the women.
“Based on the information obtained from the victim’s vehicle, our investigators believe there was evidence to indicate foul play,” the statement said. “We are still searching for these victims and there are no arrests at this time. We ask that anyone with additional information please contact the OSBI at tips@osbi.ok.gov or 1-800-522-8017.”
A News Nation report said the women were approaching an abandoned gas station called Four Corners, about five minutes from where Butler’s car was found, near Highway 95 and Road L, south of Elkhart, Kansas, in rural Texas County.
“We’re calling this a suspicious disappearance because as soon as you find a vehicle really in the middle of nowhere you know was occupied by two women, and those two women have vanished; it’s concerning for us as well, so we are really trying to figure out what may have happened and doing everything we can to find them,” McKee said last week.
A week ago, Heath Kelley reposted a desperate prayer on behalf of the missing women by McCook Christian Church:
We come to you today in desperation, in weakness, knowing that you are almighty, all powerful and able to do what we are unable. We cry out to you Lord, for those that are broken and in pain. The unknown is a different kind of pain that many have not experienced, and we are unsure of how to even pray. When we do not know what to say, you intervene for us. We bring Jilian and Veronica to you today.
We ask in the mighty name of Jesus, that you would allow them to be seen by someone and brought home to their families. We ask that you wrap them in your embrace of comfort and peace. May their families know that you are with them. Surround their families with your presence in such a way that they cannot deny your presence. Be palpable to them in an overwhelming and loving way.
Replace their heartache with calmness. Breathe for them when they find it difficult to take the next breath. Wipe away their tears and take away their anxiety, replacing it with your peace that only you can provide.
Give direction to those that are searching. Shine a light on the clues and move their feet swiftly towards these women with purpose and determination. Provide protection to all involved and bring them all home safely to their families.
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